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12/20/2014

1920s Harmony-made Schuler Soprano Uke

While this uke bears a Schuler label in the soundhole... it's 100% Harmony-made in Chicago. I worked on this for a customer and it got a bridge reglue on top of top repairs, a fret level/dress, and setup. I also added a 12th fret (vintage wire) that appears to have never been installed when the uke was made and seated the (replacement) friction tuners a little more nicely. It turned out nice with just a bit more sparkle than I'm used to on "peanut"-shaped Harmony ukes (they tend towards very mellow/plunky) and it plays spot-on.

This one is made entirely from mahogany with lots of nice light flame and curl all over.

I wish I could've taken outdoor pics today but I was a bit late in getting the photos done. This wood glows nicely in sunlight and has all sorts of mini-flame ripple effects.

The frets certainly needed some leveling and dressing... a first pass of my leveler showed about half of them lower than the rest by a little bit (and not in sequence). This means that when you lower the action to play faster those frets would've buzzed on their neighbors. This is kind of par for the course with old instruments which is why I suggest getting a level/dress job on old gear first thing and why it's standard in my workshop.

Well... I can't argue with a pretty-looking thing that's also fun to be around!